South America Snow Sessions 2009: The Parties

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There are a few undeniable facts when it comes to Argentina. One is people LOVE to party. Whether it’s enjoying an après Quilmes after a full day of shredding at the bottom of the hill, a glass of Malbec from one of the countless wineries in Mendoza at dinner, or Fernet and Coca at the crazy dance club all night long, Argentineans know how to live life and show it everyday with social events and smiles. SASS knows this full well and encourages all of our adult campers to take full advantage of the festive atmosphere. So far sessions 2 and 3 have been off the hook with many wild nights in and around town.

One of the biggest surprises of the summer was a very special guest appearance by international superstar DJ Z Trip. Z Trip came down to get his shred on with the SASS crew and blessed us with a once-in-a-lifetime set at Mute at the base of Cerro Catedral, our local mountain. Z Trip came thru like a rhino, mashing up hip hop and rock and roll in his trademark style like Argentina has never heard before. SASS took over the dance floor until the wee hours of the morning while a few confused local dudes simply stared in disbelief.

Earlier in the session, SASS hosted the K2 crew and took them to an exclusive VIP club downtown to experience a different kind of party, Bariloche style. The Fernet flowed freely and everyone had a great time dancing it up and wildin’ out to the sounds of the south. Keep in mind, there is no such thing as “last call” down here.

K2 Team Manager Kevin Winkle says 6 more Fernet’s please.

There are tons of local beers here too that pack a punch.

What, is that Oakley Media Monster Matt Murray in the house?!?

A new brand of Argentina Fernet staking its claim.

SASS coach Lucas Moore blowing off some steam.

K2 Pro Robbie Walker rode like a champ and partied like he was defending his title.

Shaun McKay loving it.

One disco ball is just not enough.

Head Guide Skylar Holgate is a local hero.

A few nights later there was a giant festival downtown celebrating the European influence in Argentina. The line went around the block as thousands of people crammed into a giant coliseum to drink and dance until the sun came up.

Once inside, it was total chaos and team SASS went from country to country buying out the bar at every stop.

The log sawing competition got shut off right before Skylar was going to crush it.

This guy couldn’t believe we cleaned him out completely of Fernet! Granted it was 5 am…

This is how it goes down.

Thanks to Matt Murray for these coming thru with a few crazy festival photos.

For Matt’s last night in town, we had to start at Mute for après and keep it rolling from there.

Then it was time for the main event as Z Trip showed up to crush it on the ones and twos. With a last minute, thrown-together equipment set up and a bar manger who had no idea what he was in store for, we kicked it old school house party steeze and showed Argentina how the U S of fuckin’ A gets down.

Coincidently it just happened to be SASS head honcho Luke Shelly’s birthday that night. Happy B-Day buddy, hope mine’s as fun as yours was!

Bring on the Fernet.

MGT mastermind Robin Van Gyn knows how to have a good time.

So does Leanne Party Pelosi of course.

As always Z Trip brought the heat and cranked out shit like only he can do. We were straight braking down barriers with this one—it’s safe to say that heads down here have never heard Led Zepplin, Johnny Cash or Lil’ Wayne… much less them all mixed together!

Coaches Nat and Brian, Salud!

Z Trip’s wife Natalie says, “Get that CD DJ shit outta here!”

Mumi hooks SASS up hard.

Natalie literally gave this girl the shirt off her back after a jacket went missing. What a sweetheart!

Skylar, me, John Sang, Z Trip and Natalie at 4:30 am closing down the club. It was such an amazing night; special thanks to Z Trip for pulling one out of his ass and kicking off Session 3 with a bang, Luchio at Mute for letting us take over his club, Mumi for always taking care of us and SASS for partying like they meant it. Everyone had an awesome time and we can’t wait until next year—we’re going to do it even bigger! Remember, there’s still time to put a little winter in your summer and sign up for the last session, August 29th-Sept 7th. The 18 and up adults only SASS VIP Session is going to be nuts and includes free roundtrip domestic airfare from Buenos Aires. $2375 gets you 10 all-inclusive days of lodging, lift tickets, meals, transportation, daily guides into the backcountry, exclusive parties at night, fashion shows and much more. Go ahead, what are you waiting for? Check out www.sasnowsessions.com for more info. By the way… it’s PUKING snow again right now, stay tuned for plenty of powder pics to come very soon.

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[…] me, it was time to come home. It was a great month filled with lots of travel, knee-deep pow days, all-night parties and some of my favorite people on the planet. Big thanks go out to everyone at SASS: the coaches, […]